Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series review

Australia is the first country in the world to take delivery of Toyota’s much-anticipated LandCruiser 79 Double Cab* - and 4X4 Australia magazine has had an exclusive First Drive in it. (*That’s a dual-cab to the rest of us.)

This hard-core 4.5-litre V8 diesel off-roader has a five-speed manual gearbox and is being offered in two grades, Workmate and GXL. The Workmate, priced from $63 990, has practical 16-inch steel split rims with robust 7.50R16 Light Truck tyres, vinyl seats and floor covering. The fancier GXL (priced from $67 990) has 16-inch alloys with wider 265/70R16 tyres (also LT), mudguard flares, fog lights, cloth seats, carpets, remote central locking, and front and rear diff locks, which are optional on the Workmate. With the introduction of the LC79 DC, Toyota has also revised the entire 70 Series range adding ABS brakes to all models, and a larger fuel tank (now 130 litres) and new front seats to the LC76, among other across-the-range detail changes.

The single-turbo V8 oiler produces 151kW of power (at 3400rpm) and 430Nm of torque.